The only creature was Dr. Smith himself, originally a minor character that the producers allowed to take over the story lines, much to the chagrin of more veteran actors in the cast. Played by the outlandishly hammy Jonathan Harris, my own view (and I saw this TV program when it first aired in the 1960s) was that he ruined the series more than any creature that ever menaced the other characters.

I always loved this show -- even though some of the episodes got pretty silly.

Incidentally, Jonathan Harris wasn't gay, although some people assume he was. He was married 50+ years, had a son, etc.

The Shakespearian/British accent was a put-on. He was born in Brooklyn (his parents were Russian immigrants) and in real life, he actually had a heavy New York accent.

He said he adopted his sort of fey acting persona (replicated in nearly all of his roles, not just Lost in Space) because it got him work.

He must have been on to something. In a 60-year acting career, he had over 600 television and movie roles of one kind or another, which is really an enormous amount. And that doesn't include theater.

He knew he had a lot of gay fans, and was always exceedingly nice to them at fan shows.

And it is true that Irwin Allen -- the creator and producer of Lost in Space -- basically gave the show to him. And it did anger the other actors, particularly Guy Williams. His role was cut so much, he once said, "I must be getting paid more per word than Laurence Olivier."

That said, angry as they were, the rest of the cast liked Jonathan and didn't blame him personally because he was handed the show.

In particular, June Lockhart, Marta Kristen and Billy Mumy thought the world of him. And the entire cast remained very good friends decades after the show was over.

LittleDudeWithMuscles saidIn particular, June Lockhart... thought the world of him. And the entire cast remained very good friends decades after the show was over.

If true, then all well and good. June Lockhart was the daughter of Gene Lockhart, one of my favorite character actors from Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s & 40s. The 2 of them were very much liked in the business. But I still think Jonathan Harris was a terrible ham.

LittleDudeWithMuscles saidIn particular, June Lockhart... thought the world of him. And the entire cast remained very good friends decades after the show was over.

If true, then all well and good. June Lockhart was the daughter of Gene Lockhart, one of my favorite character actors from Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s & 40s. The 2 of them were very much liked in the business. But I still think Jonathan Harris was a terrible ham.

Well, yes....I don't think Jonathan was ever accused of underplaying his role

And yes, I had the opportunity to interview June Lockhart, Marta Kristen, Mark Goddard, Billy Mumy and Dick Tufeld (voice of the Robot) a few yrs. back. . . they went out of their way to say nice things about Jonathan, and that coincides with everything I've read over the years. . .

Excepting Mark Goddard. . . who didn't say anything bad about Jonathan either. . . but Mark seemed somewhat unpleasant during the interview. . . which coincides with everything I've heard about him over the years.

LittleDudeWithMuscles saidIn particular, June Lockhart... thought the world of him. And the entire cast remained very good friends decades after the show was over.

If true, then all well and good. June Lockhart was the daughter of Gene Lockhart, one of my favorite character actors from Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s & 40s. The 2 of them were very much liked in the business. But I still think Jonathan Harris was a terrible ham. [/quote

Proves what a talented actor he was. The "smith " character was his campy invention ....he took over the show with pure dramatic vivre.